Jesse Eisenberg discusses Lex Luthor role in ‘Batman Vs Superman’

'The Social Network' actor signs on as iconic villain in superhero mash-up

Jesse Eisenberg has said he will not look to the past when he plays Lex Luthor in the forthcoming Batman Vs Superman film.

Eisenberg lines up alongside Ben Affleck and Henry Cavill in the forthcoming superhero mash-up title and spoke to IGN about what he expects to bring to the role.

“I don’t know the history as well as the people making the movie,” says Eisenberg, “so I guess it’s up to them to figure out how much they want to separate it from previous incarnations. But I will treat it like it’s its own role.”

“There’s no way to play the history of the character played by other people, unless you do some kind of wink, but that doesn’t seem like a responsible way to act. So I will just do it as though it’s a character.”

“The character’s written really well,” he continues. “It’s a really great role. The fact that it’s in a big movie, you know, it seems like a character that would be in any kind of movie. It just happens to be in a bigger, flashier kind of thing.”

It was revealed earlier this year that Batman Vs Superman has been delayed by 10 months and will now open on May 6, 2016 to “allow the filmmakers time to realise fully their vision, given the complex visual nature of the story”. The film was originally slated for a Summer 2015 release.

Ben Affleck will appear in the film as Batman, while Henry Cavill is set to reprise his role as Superman. Amy Adams will be returning as Lois Lane and fellow Man Of Steel cast members Diane Lane and Laurence Fishburne have officially signed up to reprise their roles too in the Zack Synder-directed movie.